


Memories

by goodmythicalmaddi



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 16:40:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17104256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodmythicalmaddi/pseuds/goodmythicalmaddi
Summary: Mythical Secret Santa 2018 - As requested by @themouthking , a gift giving rhink fic!Also my first fanfic!





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheMouthKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMouthKing/gifts).



> Thank you SOO MUCH @MythicalCatie (thefrenchmaidoutfit on tumblr) for helping me through my first fic late into the night and editing and just being generally lovely, you're the best!

Link slowly settled himself down in his mother’s armchair, feeling full to the brim with pancakes, bacon and biscuits. The long trek back home to North Carolina during the holidays proved to be stressful, but the Christmas Day "breakfast for dinner" (as well as the company that came along with it) always felt like a reward for all of his efforts.

Link smiled as he observed his pajama-clad wife and three beautiful kids engrossed in a story from Christmas past that his mother, Sue, was retelling with an air of enthusiasm that he had missed in the months since his last visit. 

Being back in North Carolina felt like being wrapped in his favorite childhood blanket:  familiar and comforting. Driving through Buies Creek and into Lillington brought back so many memories, most of them made with his best friend, Rhett. Although Link was happy to spend time with his family and make up for lost time, he couldn’t help but notice the absence of his bearded other half. After thirty-four years of friendship, when the two men were apart, their absences from each other were not only noticed, but felt.

Link shifted in his seat and pulled his phone out of his back pocket, unlocking it and tapping the Twitter icon. He scrolled through dozens and dozens of tweets from Mythical Beasts wishing himself, Rhett, and the whole mythical crew a happy holidays. The well wishes brought a smile to his face; they really were lucky to have such great fans. All of the sudden, Link’s phone began vibrating as a picture of Rhett overtook his screen. 

Getting up from his seat, he headed down the hall and to the guest bedroom to accept the call.

“Hey man, Merry Christmas!” Link said cheerfully, feeling a sudden boost of energy, one he always got from talking to Rhett 

“Merry Christmas Link! I’m shocked you picked up, I figured you’d be in a biscuit- induced coma.” Rhett joked. 

“Very nearly my friend, very nearly.” Link said, feigning exhaustion. “How’re the in-laws treating you?” 

“Ah, you lead me right to the purpose of my call.” 

“Oh no, need me to call in the SWAT team to come and save you?” Link teased playfully.

“Nah, just you man. Want to meet at Mermaid Point for a drink? I’ve got something for yah.”

“I got a lil’ something for you too.” Link said in a mockingly seductive tone  “Meet you there in twenty?”

Rhett chuckled. “Can’t wait, see you there.” He said in a deep tone that always made Link’s breath catch in his throat. 

Link hung up and began rummaging through his luggage for something decent to wear, settling for his charcoal joggers, a plain black t-shirt and his wool collared denim jacket to go over it. Under several layers of Link’s neatly folded clothes was a small box haphazardly wrapped in iridescent red wrapping paper. He carefully extracted the box out from beneath the clothes and stuck it under his arm. Grabbing his keys and wallet, he kissed his wife on the head, telling her where he was headed and that he would be back soon. After slipping on his Nike Air Trainers, he headed out the door. 

Beginning his short drive to the bar, Link was immediately hit with a wave of nervous excitement. It had only been four days since he and Rhett went their separate ways, flying different airlines back to North Carolina with their respective families, but the days apart almost felt like months. Every time he was away from his best friend for more than a long weekend, he felt a familiar aching that reminded him he was one half of something. He couldn’t wait to reunite and feel whole again. 

Upon his arrival, Link stepped out of his car and took a deep breath of the cool winter air, filling his lungs with a smell that pervaded his childhood: the Cape Fear River, which flowed steadily behind Mermaid Point. He and Rhett spent so much of their time exploring Cape Fear and the woods that surrounded, going on adventure hikes and camping trips as often as they could together. The surging water he heard brought him right back to the days that were some of the best in his life. He stepped in to the bar with a warmth in his chest and butterflies in his stomach as he made eye contact with the dirty blond haired man who sat one head above everyone else. Rhett smiled warmly and motioned for Link to take the seat next to him.

“Hey Linkster!” Rhett said, his cheeks rounding from grinning so big.

“Hey there you dork!” Link giggled as he gave his best friend a love tap on the shoulder and sat down, placing his present on the bar.

Rhett  gentl y raised his hand to get the bartender's attention. “Bourbon on the rocks and a vodka tonic for my friend please?” The bartender nodded and began making their drinks. 

As they drank, the two men caught each other up on their families, gushed about the southern home cooking they had missed so much and shared the gifts they had received this year.

“That reminds me,” Rhett twisted around, retrieving something from the black bomber jacket hanging off the back of his chair. “Merry Christmas, bo,” he enthused with a soft smile that warmed Link from the inside like the strong drink he lightly swirled in his hand. Rhett handed him a green sealed envelope and quietly delighted in watching his best friend fumble, almost ripping the gift in half while attempting to open it. Link unfolded the paper that was inside and read over the words, a confused expression on his face as he looked up at Rhett with his brows raised in question. 

“Am I takin’ a boat ride?” Link said with a bewildered tone, pointing to the unexplained ticket he held in his hands.

“ **We** are taking a ferry ride to Catalina, man!” Rhett said exuberantly. “Four days away, just you and me exploring caves, surfing and horseback riding all around the island.” He paused, awaiting Link’s reaction to the last bit of information.

“Horseback riding?!” Link nearly yelled out of excitement, bouncing briefly in his chair. “Like at full gallop?!”

“As fast as the wind takes you, buddy roll.” Rhett laughed. “We been talking ‘bout doing things on our bucket list since that Ear Biscuit months ago and I figured I’d help you check this one off!” His beaming expression began to soften as he shifted his view down to the bar top. “I feel like we spend all this time together at work, on tour, with friends… but we haven’t really gotten to hang out just the two of us, no business involved, in I don’t know how long.” Rhett paused thoughtfully, raising his eyes to meet Link’s.  “I miss you man.”

A soft blush fell over Link’s cheeks, nearly invisible to everyone in the dimly lit bar but Rhett, whose cheeks mimicked a similar crimson color in response. 

“I miss you too Rhett.” Link said with a shy smile. He paused for a moment, looked down at his drink, then back at Rhett, his expression now of concern. “Do you ever worry that building a career on our friendship will break us apart? Like the stress of it all?”

Rhett took a sip of his bourbon then shook his head. “Nothing could do that.” He said with confidence. “Look what we’ve gotten to do together! Travel around the country, across the seas, doing these amazing things and meeting all the people we never would have if we didn’t do this together.”

A million memories flashed into Link’s brain, recalling some of the incredible things he’d been through with this man by his side. Smiling to himself, he listened to Rhett continue.

“Sure, sometimes when work is brutal and responsibilities get in the way, things can feel distant. But that’s where rehashing old memories and getaways to Catalina come in and bring us right back. I’m never worried about us.” Rhett beamed as he wrapped his arm around Link’s shoulder, the electric touch giving him goosebumps. The sudden act of affection abruptly brought their faces less than a foot apart as their eyes met. Link felt the warmth of Rhett's breath as he noticed his gaze briefly wander to his mouth then back to locking eyes. After Link gently bit his lip in reaction, the proximity became too much, as Rhett removed his arm and reached for his drink. The two men drank quietly for a minute and attempted to cool down as they processed what just occurred.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Link exclaimed, attempting to break the tension. He slid the small shimmering box towards Rhett, who slowly rotated the gift on the surface of the bar appreciating the wrapping job from all angles. “Wow,  _ very  _ nice.” He said sarcastically, nodding. 

“Yanno, I didn’t win the Epic Wrap Battle all those years ago with just my dashing good looks.” Link jested.

Rhett shook his head and quietly laughed as he unwrapped his gift, exposing a black paper box. He removed the top of the box to reveal a beautiful speckled light gray stone, smoothed and shined to perfection. On the largest face of the rock, engraved in black letters was: 

R & L

Est. 1984

 

He ran his fingers over the text, tracing the numbers and letters.

“When I came back home to say goodbye to Papa a couple months ago, I took some time to myself to think and just... be.” Link paused, clearing his throat as he looked down at his wedding ring that he was fiddling with. “I went to Cape Fear and sat on our speaking rock and thought about Papa and the memories I had with him. Sittin’ there, I was remembering all the significant conversations you and I had there and how it was a place of clarity and safety. It’s an important place to me, to us. So I wanted you to be able to keep a piece of Cape Fear and the talking rock with you.”

Link watched as his companion admired the stone a bit longer before finally meeting his gaze.  Rhett’s eyes welled with tears, feeling so moved having never received something filled with so much meaning and sentimentality. Some of the most pivotal moments and one of the most important relationships in his life now symbolized in an object that was his to keep. He sniffled and pulled Link into a hug, patting him on the back. But even that wasn’t good enough to express just how grateful he was. “Thank you Link.”

Link was stunned for a moment by the unexpected embrace before wrapping his arms around him, bringing their chests together and Link’s face deeper into the crook of his neck. “Anything for you, Rhett,” the smaller man said with a tone of the deepest sincerity. He closed his eyes and relished in the warmth he was enveloped in a couple moments longer, the two then gently releasing their clasp of one another. “You know I mean that, right? Anything you need anytime, I’m there for you.”

“I’ve known for the past three decades, brother.” Rhett said. “And I’m always there for you too, friends ‘til the end.” He smiled as he raised his nearly empty glass. 

“Friends ‘till the end,” Link echoed as he met his own drink to Rhett’s. 

 


End file.
